“We want everyone in Seattle to have one of these jerseys. Wearing them to our games- little kids wearing them to our games,” Cayla Barnes said.
On October 21, PWHL Seattle unveiled their inaugural season jerseys and while most fans were hoping for a name and a logo, any milestone leading up to puck drop is exciting.
The jerseys are a nod to the original six teams in the PWHL playing their first seasons with a similar, classic design. Fans can, however, anticipate a team name and logo reveal prior to the beginning of the season with those aspects added to the jerseys for the 2026-27 season.
PWHL Seattle hosted a media event the morning of the jersey reveal during which players Hilary Knight, Cayla Barnes, Alex Carpenter, Corinne Schroeder, and Jenna Buglioni wore their home jerseys for photos and a brief question and answer session.
Players Love Seattle's Look
While the fan reaction was extremely positive, what did the players think of their new sweaters?
“We were ecstatic,” Knight said. “Just seeing the green, the blue, the cream. Everything ties nicely together. Both the home and the away jerseys are awesome. They did a really great job with only the inaugural six across the front and that being the theme for this year.”
With a successful first day of jersey sales, the players are looking forward to seeing them throughout the city.
“We want everyone in Seattle to have one of these jerseys. Wearing them to our games- little kids wearing them to our games,” Barnes said. “For us, this is our new identity. We all come from different places so to have this jersey now as our identity and then hopefully have some more of our fans take on that identity as well wearing these jerseys around.”
Schroeder didn’t come out fully outfitted in her new Seattle pads, but the PWHL did share a picture of her setup. When asked about the process to create something new, she said, “I wanted to something a little more simple. The last couple years, I’ve done some very creative things, which has been great, but I wanted something a little sleeker, a little more simple and clean.”
She’s also looking forward to fresh start calling it both “exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.” Schroeder said she’s going to “fit in really well with the city and this team.” She hadn’t been to Seattle previously, but she already has her road and mountain bikes with her to enjoy the beautiful landscape.
With a professional women’s team in the city, it gives another level of inspiration to young girls and women. “If she can see it, she can be it,” Knight said. “Visibility is so important. This is a great step in continuing that career path and seeing that if you lace up the skates as a young skater, you can really achieve anything.”
Barnes continued that thread when she said, “Women’s hockey’s exploding right now. With all the new things coming- two new expansion teams, the Olympics- there’s so many different things happening. It’s just bringing more and more attention to our game and I think that’s really important. The more eyes we can get on the game, the faster it’s going to grow. The more little girls we can get into the sport and inspire- that’s our big role.”
Another Step Toward Inaugural Season
PWHL Seattle wasn’t the only team to reveal jerseys. PWHL Vancouver also debuted their inaugural season jerseys. A big storyline prior to the season starting is this budding rivalry between the two new teams. When asked about the rivalry, Knight said, “I hope it’s as intense as they’re building up. We definitely have a target on our back being an expansion team- both of us do. The stakes are really high for both of our clubs and we’ve got very competitive people here that want to win every, single time we throw these jerseys on. It’s going to be a great, natural rivalry.”
Jerseys were a great, next step towards this first season, but the players are ready to show fans what they bring to the ice.
“Really looking forward to developing our own identity, playing together as a group, playing fast, representing this community, this territory, just in a phenomenal way- the best that we can,” Knight said.
“While it's very similar because we are lacing up, suiting up, playing a sport, there’s different demands that go into being a part of Seattle, the Pacific Northwest. Really excited for the opportunity for all of us to be a part of and have a hand in building something strong and have a sustainable legacy here.”
With training camp on the horizon, the focus is turning towards that. “It’s definitely exciting, but, for us, it’s a lot about our product on the ice, getting ready for that,” Buglioni said. “We’ve been waiting for this stuff as much as you guys have, but we’re also waiting to be able to put our skates on and show the product that we’ve been working on ourselves. When we get into training camp focusing on that and how we’re going to execute on the ice.”
What kind of identity do the players hope to build this season? “Fun, competitive, and bold,” Knight said. The fan base is certainly ready for a season with those descriptors with Hailey Salvian from The Athletic saying that “PWHL Seattle had the most single-day jersey sales in PWHL history with the inaugural jersey launch.”